Together
by gaarafreak
Summary: After 2 ½ year training break, Sakura and Naruto meet again. NarutoXSakura, narusaku
1. Chapter 1

Title: Together

Summary: After 2 ½ year training break, Sakura and Naruto meet again. NarutoXSakura

Author's Note: Just something I was messing with. I've always wanted to write about Naruto and Sakura, because they're cute and realistic. This is set in manga time after the 2 ½ year training break, but right before Gaara is kidnapped by Akatsuki. Something like that anyway.

Lately, Sakura Haruno had a problem.

She had grown accustomed to the habitual cycle of waking, ninja training, and medical studies. It was a solitary lifestyle, but one she had adjusted to easily enough after Naruto and Sasuke left her behind. She had accepted the truths of their leaving: Sasuke now traveled the darker path while Naruto ventured the one of protecting that which he loved. Sakura still didn't quite know what to classify her own as.

So she got by. Not just 'got by', everyday she forced herself passed her limits, pushing her body and mind to the edge to test her capacity. She loved it, under Tsunade's teachings she was coming into her own as a ninja, but when depression set in she remembered Naruto was out there training just as hard. After a few years, Sakura no longer doubted her abilities. When Naruto returned home, she would be ready to retrieve their wayward teammate. Together.

The day he returned, she was quietly ecstatic. That night she curled into her bed after her usual bedtime routine of showering, donning her pajamas, and brushing her teeth. Her eyelids drooped and eventually shut as she drifted to sleep.

A few minutes later, she awoke to the sound of pebbles tapping against the glass of her window. Irritated, she fumbled out of bed and made her way to open the window only to have another pebble whoosh passed her face. Glaring out at the young man standing on the grass below, Sakura hissed, "Naruto, you idiot! Do you have any idea what time it is?"

Chuckling, Naruto reached behind his head to scratch the back of his short, blond hair. "Hey, hey, Sakura-chan! Come out and pla-aaaaaay!"

"What? Have you lost your mind? There's no way I'm running around with you at this time of night. I've got training with Tsunade-sama tomorrow morning. She, unlike Kakashi-sensei, hates to be late, and hates it even more when I'm late."

His lower lip quivered in an exaggerated pout as his large, blue eyes gazed up at her. "C'mon, I haven't seen you in years! Didn't you miss me even a little bit?"

Closing her eyes in an attempt to ward off her annoyance, Sakura rubbed her temples. "Of course I missed you, Naruto. You and Sasuke-kun both. I hate when either of you is gone."

At the mention of his missing rival, Naruto tensed visibly. Sakura could see the anxiety radiating from him, even from the distance of her window. Sighing, she realized that Naruto was more fragile than she when the topic of their old teammate arose. Without another thought, she stepped up on her windowsill and vaulted out of her bedroom into the air, her pajama top and pants ruffling with her descent.

"Sakura-chan!" Shocked out of his internal conflict, Naruto rushed forward, arms outstretched to catch her. There was no doubt in her mind that he would.

He dove to catch her, wrapping his body around hers as they rolled from the force of the dive to avoid injury. Panting, Naruto scrambled up to check her for bruises, only to find her grinning up at him from the ground. Even sprawled out across grass and dirt, she was beautiful.

"Nice catch," she commented, sitting up as he released her. "Good reflexes. Been training hard then?"

Blinking, Naruto watched as she slowly rose to her feet, pausing to brush stray bits of grass from her pajamas. A blush crept across his face as he realized he could see an ample amount of chest since a few buttons on her top had come undone during the fall. "Uh, yeah. Erosennin taught me a few things."

Sakura shook her head to remove some of the grass from her short, pink hair before glancing at him. "Well, I can't wait to see you in action. I hear from a reliable source that you're far better now than a few years ago. I'd expect no less from the future Hokage and someone from my team."

His eyes snapped up from her chest to meet her gaze directly, the blush still present on his cheeks. A serious expression fell over his face as he breathed, "You… believe I can become Hokage?"

"Is that a trick question?" Slightly startled by the sudden serious tone he was using, Sakura elbowed him lightly and slung her arm over his shoulders, having to reach up to do so. This also surprised her. "Wow, Naruto! You really grew a lot, didn't you? Damn, look at these muscles."

She ran her hands over his arms, testing the well defined musculature with experienced, medical fingers. It wasn't until the surroundings grew silent that Sakura realized she was reverting to her study mode and laughed. "Sorry, I get carried away sometimes. Have you had a check-up yet to chart your physical growth? I'd bet you're taller than most of the other boys from our class now."

But when she glanced up from examining his arm, she saw he was staring down at her, a mixture of emotions dancing across his face. Adoration and love, yes, she knew those from their youth, but sadness too, and something else. Something she could only label as lust. His blush had lessened, but there was a hazy, purplish blue tint to his eyes.

Cocking her head to the side, Sakura asked, "Are you okay? Why did you want to see me, anyway?"

"Oh, yeah!" Naruto knocked himself upside the head to kick start his brain. "I just wanted to talk. Tsunade called me to her office right after we met with Kakashi-sensei, and gave me a mission. I shouldn't talk about the details, you know, since we're ninja. But I just wanted you to know that it involves recon for Sasuke."

Her eyes widened slightly, the moonlight shining off them like pale green glass, scrutinizing Naruto's anxious posture as she considered what his words meant. "Tsunade-sama knows that we're supposed to find Sasuke-kun together. If we don't do it together..."

Worried that an emotional breakdown was near, Naruto quickly took her hand in his and leaned over to meet her gaze. "Whoa whoa, Sakura-chan. No worries. I read the report, and this looks like just a routine, information gathering mission. Godaime probably wouldn't even have sent me, but she wants me out of the village for a few days. Says I have bad timing, coming back when things are this hectic."

"Who's all going? Can I know?" Sakura asked, flexing her hand within his larger palm. She felt the calluses scrape lightly against her own, softer hand. His fighting style caused a lot more rough damage to his skin. But she… well, there was a reason she wore gloves. Her hands were her life, as a medic ninja, and they were also her best weapon.

Reflexively, he returned the pressure on her hand with a smile. "Don't see why not. Team eight got the mission, since they're the best with intelligence gathering. Shino's the team leader; I'm just another lackey along for the ride."

For some reason, Hinata's face appeared in her mind. The quiet girl had matured quite a bit during Naruto's training away from Konoha. She wondered if Hinata now had the courage to confess her feelings to him. Though, from what Sakura could tell, that was still a long way off for the quiet girl. "Did you get a chance to meet with Hinata and the others yet?"

"Ah, no, but I'm leaving tomorrow morning anyway. I'd much rather spend this time hanging out with you!" Naruto assured her with a big grin. Her heart thudded in her chest as a thrill of warmth spread through her body.

Brushing her absurd reaction aside, Sakura extracted her hand from his hands and turned her back on him. "Lucky you. I waited three years to start my search for Sasuke, never once hearing news about him from Tsunade-sama. You're back for a day and you get a mission with leads to him. That's bullshit, Naruto, and you know it. I'm beginning to wonder if the village of Konoha isn't a little sexist."

"Aw, come on, Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined, trying to get closer to her to argue his point. "Look, I know you want to find him with me and we will. But for tonight, let's not worry about Sasuke. I only want to talk about you, not that bastard. Can we do that? It's been so long since I got to see you."

Glaring at him from the corner of her eye, Sakura exhaled, her tension escaping her with the gust of warm breath. Truthfully, she always felt a tiny bit of resentment toward the rivalry between Sasuke and Naruto. It meant they acknowledged each other's abilities. Sasuke never saw her unleash her full power, and thus she felt he lacked the respect toward her that he felt for Naruto.

But for tonight, she closed her eyes and smoothed the anger from her face before turning to address Naruto again. When she opened her eyes, she saw Naruto gazing down at her happily seconds before he threw his arms around her waist, lifted her up, and spun them both around on his heels while laughing loudly. "Sakura-chan, I missed you!"

The force of their movement blew strands of her pink hair across her face, her pajamas rippling against her body. "Naruto, shh! The neighbors!"

"I don't care!" Naruto pressed his face into the angle where her shoulder met her neck and chuckled. "Let 'em call the cops! Or throw boots at us!"

"Hey, you don't have to deal with them tomorrow," she snapped, her mind warning her that he was too close. When she felt his lips brush against her neck, she froze. "Naruto."

"Mm," he replied, his lips still tickling her skin, his warm breath sending shivers through her.

"You should let me go," she said, her voice suddenly weak, as if her body knew the truth that her mind refused to admit.

He nodded in agreement as he continued to trail light kisses up her neck. He knew that already, but more surprising than his reluctance to let her go was the fact that he hadn't snatched her into his arms as soon as he entered Konoha. Lips still on her skin, he growled, "Should have let go of you a long time ago."

He wasn't talking about holding her at present. The fact was she knew Naruto cared about her, but she thought for sure that being apart for a few years would show him there were other girls out there. Like how she was beginning to see other guys besides Sasuke. And, though she wasn't going to admit it, the most interesting one was currently clinging to her. "Hey, put me down. We can talk, okay?"

Hesitant, Naruto placed her feet back on the ground and dropped his arms to his sides. She gazed up at him with clear eyes, waiting. Shuffling his feet in the dirt, he averted his eyes, looking anywhere but at her. Finally, she reached out and grabbed his shirt sleeve before tugging him toward the apartment entrance. "We can talk in my apartment."

Not sure what to do, Naruto let her led him through the complex and up stairs to her apartment. "It's small, but I have more freedom than I did at home. I can come and go as I please and that allows me to train late at night."

"You've been training real hard, Sakura-chan," Naruto smiled at her and her cheeks burnt red in the darkened hallway. "I bet you're the strongest medic ninja out there."

"I doubt that," she muttered, though the compliment of her abilities affected her far more than any comment about her looks. "Tsunade-sama is still the best medic nin and one of the legendary three. I hope to one day surpass her… but that's after we save Sasuke. One goal at a time is more than enough."

"Yeah," he laughed, rubbing his scalp as she opened the door and let him in. Cautiously, he eyed the doorway before stepping inside.

"I don't have any traps set, if that's what you're worried about," she huffed, shutting the door behind them as he wandered into the living room.

"Wow, Sakura-chan, this place is way bigger than my apartment." He admired the myriad of photos pinned all over a large bulletin board above her desk. Most of them were of him and Sasuke and her, with variations on the order. One showed him and Sasuke slurping down noodles as fast as they could, obviously an eating contest. One showed her in a light green kimono holding a white umbrella in front of a row of blossoming cherry trees at springtime. Ino was hugging her hard while wearing a pastel blue kimono similar to hers. It was the most recent picture on the board. "So pretty…"

"Oh, that." Her nose crinkled when she saw which picture he was admiring. "About a month ago, my mom wanted me to wear the kimono she made for my birthday. Then Ino saw me in it and, well, the rest is history."

"Can I have a copy?" he asked, hopefully.

Shrugging, she unpinned the picture from the board and handed it to him with a smile. "I can get another if I want one. Oh, should I make some tea for us?"

"Sure!" He plopped down on the couch in the front room and watched her walk to the kitchen. While she was gone, he racked his brain for what to do next. He really had no plan, but as soon as returned to Konoha, the urge to see her was stronger than it had ever been during his training journey.

He felt like the unsure child he had been three years ago.

He loved her so dearly it made him reckless. It made him charge forward only to run straight into her wall of indifference. Again and again. Her acknowledgement was as important as Sasuke's for an entirely different reason. She grew even more beautiful as the years progressed, and the thought that they had lost two and a half years tore at him.

Heart squeezing within his chest at the thought, Naruto was up from his seat in an instant, closing the distance between them almost frantically.

From the kitchen, Sakura heard him jump up and dash across the room, but she didn't know why until his arms were thrown around her shoulders, his body pressing into hers from behind. His voice was ragged as he spoke while burying his face in her shock of pink hair. "Sakura-chan… please…"

"What's wrong?" The note of desperation mingled with sadness in his voice caused her heart to leap to her throat. She struggled in his grasp to face him, but failed as he hold was firm. Instead, she placed both her hands on his forearms which wrapped around under her chin and leaned back. "It's okay, you're here now, you're safe with me."

All the years of danger he faced in his quest to find Sasuke dulled to nothing when he had his arms around her. This person… his most important Sakura.

"I love you," he whispered, though his voice waivered at the last word.

Sakura tensed slightly in his grip and Naruto felt it amplified as he stood vulnerable behind her. Cursing inwardly, he wished, not for the first time, that he could maintain his emotional cool as well as Sasuke. Especially regarding Sakura.

But the tension melted from her body immediately, replacing his self-annoyance with confusion. He suddenly needed to see her face.

He released his hold and Sakura slowly moved within his arms until her lower back was pressed into the counter, her front inches from his. Then she looked up at him, her pale rose bangs falling aside to reveal her watery, green eyes.

"Oh, no, Sakura-chan, I didn't mean to make you cry…" Naruto wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her across that pesky inch dividing them. Using his free hand, he wiggled his sleeve until it covered his hand and wiped her tears away in a gesture of childlike caring.

It broke her already wounded heart and mended it in a single instant.

Throwing her arms around him, she hid her face in his shirt and allowed the cottony material to muffle her sobs. How had he become so strong? Even before, he had been a constant pillar of strength, but now… he had honed himself into an impenetrable shield just for her.

Unable to read her mind, Naruto held her tightly with one arm around her waist, the other working through her hair as he murmured, "Shh, it's okay. You're here now, you're safe with me."

His words resonated in her mind and she chuckled into his shirt. "Are you making fun me? I said that to you a few minutes ago, idiot. If you're gonna comfort me, at least come up with your own material."

She raised her head to meet his gaze, and he was smiling openly. "You're prettier when you're laughing, you know? And besides, I can't help it if you say things better than I do. You've always been smarter than me."

Sighing, she reached up to his shoulders and tugged him down to rest her forehead against his. "Maybe, but you've always understood just what I needed, no matter if it hurt you. And somehow, you still managed to love me.

"But I'm not the same person I was when Sasuke left. I've changed, and there's no way you could know if you love who I am now."

Her words were silenced as he caught her lips with his, scattering her rational explanation to the floor. His hand ran through her hair, twirling it between his fingers, as his lips melted into hers. And to his greater surprise, she returned the pressure of the kiss.

No matter what her excuse, he always found a way to bridge the gap between them. It was inevitable and wonderful now that she accepted it. Such overwhelming love found a foothold within her heart, and she couldn't help but give as she took.

They broke away from each other to steady their breathing, but his hands remained in her hair and around her waist, and hers encircled his chest. After a moment, a sharp pain in her lower back caused her to wince. "Let's go in the living room, this counter is killing me."

Since she hadn't even managed to turn on the stove to heat the water, Sakura led the way into the living room, where she sat on the large couch. He followed closely and plopped down beside her. After a moment, he ventured, "Sakura-chan, about what you said… I've always loved you, regardless of how you've changed through the years. To me, you're the same as ever. So strong, so lovely."

"Until a few years ago, Naruto, I was anything but strong. I burdened you and Sasuke-kun with my presence. Unnecessary baggage is the best way to explain how I felt."

"You were never a burden! Not to me!" He insisted, eyebrows furrowing together in anger. "Whenever I fought to protect you, I was invincible. There was no losing, because you were there to support me."

Her lips twitched with a suppressed smile. "I doubt that. You would win even if I wasn't there."

His silence stretched for nearly a minute before he stated, "You weren't there when I went to retrieve Sasuke right after he ran away. And I lost then when you needed me most."

Her heart thumped painfully in her chest, but the ache was dulled by years of suffering. She reached out and lifted his head so that one palm rested on each of his cheeks. "You've never failed me, Naruto. You may not have been able to bring Sasuke back, but it wasn't you who failed. It was Sasuke."

"But, my promise," he started, but she glared him into silence again.  
"I was upset and irrational when you made that promise. It's a promise we share now, it's our responsibility to bring him back. Not yours alone." She smirked, trailing a finger along one of the whisker-like markings on his cheeks. "He's a lost teammate, and we'll find him together."

"I don't want him in Orochimaru's clutches when the allotted three years run out, Naruto, because I love him," she said, the hurt in his eyes sharpened at this before she continued, "But I'm not in love with him. Not anymore. Not after he betrayed us and Konoha for revenge."

"And after a long, two and a half years, I'm finally able to see other men as potential lovers," he stiffened in his seat as she said this and she resisted the urge to laugh. "But you know what the only problem is?"

He shook his head, unable to speak as she leaned in close. Her lips hovered near his ear, breath tickling his earlobe with her words. "I can't seem to focus on anyone but you."

It took a few seconds before the meaning of her words sunk in passed the shock. She leaned back and smirked at him. "Well? You willing to give me a shot or am I too late?"

The look of utter disbelief on his face quickly transformed into anxiety as he threw his arms around her, pulling her onto his lap as he cradled her close to him. "You're never too late, Sakura-chan. I was just early is all."

"Hm," she found that her head fit comfortably between his chin and chest. "That's good. Thank you, Naruto."

"For what?"

"For being you, I guess."

"Ah." He grinned and continued to hold her, his chin resting on top her head. "You're welcome."


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Together

Summary: After a 2 ½ year training break, Sakura and Naruto meet again.

Author's Note: Some more stuffs. Since the first part was so well received and due to the fact that there's still plenty left unsaid about these two, I decided to further explore this relationship. Damn Naruto for having so little romance in it. Not that it should be all flowers and sparkly eyes, but come on. A little bit of lovin' never hurt anyone, least of all the fox-boy. Oh, and review if you have time. Comments, criticism, and some such are more than welcome.

The next day, Naruto left for his scouting mission with team eight, which gave Sakura some much needed alone time. He had kept her awake until dawn trying to extract information out of her about her life during his 2 ½ years away. All the attention from him was both flattering and unnerving now that she actually wanted it.

Grumbling under her breath, she awoke in her bed a few hours later, only then realizing she must have fallen asleep during their all-nighter. An irritated glance at the clock told her she had to get moving, or face the wrath of her sensei when late.

Propelling her legs out of the warm bed, Sakura wondered for a moment how she got into bed in the first place, but shrugged the thought away. Naruto must have carried her before leaving.

The cold floor chilled her exposed feet as she padded to the bathroom for her morning shower, the first of her beauty rituals. After twisting the water faucet until it was the perfect temperature, she stripped and stepped into the shower. As the warm water sprayed down, hitting her head and neck, Sakura closed her eyes and sighed. What a night.

It was in her nature to overanalyze every situation, but she didn't want to this time. What she felt for Naruto was a long time in the making and she refused to ruin it with her constant worrying. Shoving the bad thoughts to the back of her mind, she continued with her shower.

When she entered the kitchen afterwards, dressed in her field outfit and short hair still slightly damp, Sakura froze. On the table was a large bowl covered in plastic wrap and a pair of chopsticks with a note resting on top. The note was from Naruto.

"Sakura-chan! You fell asleep on me! Am I really that boring? Oh well, you're pretty cute when you're drooling and snoring and stuff. Figured I should let you sleep. Here's some ramen, 'cause I thought of you when I stopped in at the ramen stand before leaving. Okay, see ya in a week! – Naruto Uzumaki"

She tossed the letter onto the table and contemplated eating the ramen. It had been sitting there for a few hours since Naruto left, so it was cold. And cold, congealed ramen wasn't exactly her ideal breakfast. It was the thought that mattered and any thoughts Naruto managed to conjure up in his thick skull were all the more priceless for their rarity.

But thoughts didn't feed her grumbling stomach. She scooted the ramen to the middle of the table and hurried to make some toast before rushing out the door. With a slice of buttered toast dangling from her teeth, Sakura sprinted down the street toward the Hokage's office.

Arriving right on time, she knocked on Tsunade's door and tried to catch her breath as she shoved her way inside. The older woman glanced up from her mountain of paperwork when Sakura entered. "Oh, Sakura. Good morning."

"Good morning, Tsunade-shishou," Sakura bowed and stood stiffly before the Hokage's desk. "I was wondering if you'd gotten any information about Sasuke or Orochimaru."

"Hn," Tsunade knew the routine well, having practiced it regularly for some two years now. Once a week, Sakura would demand to know any new knowledge pertaining to her teammate's whereabouts, only to be disappointed when there was nothing new to report. "As I'm sure you've heard from Naruto, I've just dispatched a team to investigate various hot spots of information. Within a week, they should return with a few leads."

Sakura steeled her resolve and nodded. "Well, when they return with the leads, please let me know."

"Of course," her teacher assured her before picking up a sheet of paper and skimming it. "Well, how's the training? You succeed at the exercise I gave you yet?"

"Yes. I successfully completed the exercise during yesterday's practice. Is there anything else you can teach me, Tsunade-shishou?" Sakura asked, hopefully. Learning new skills was always a fun way to busy her mind and she welcomed that aspect of training at present.

Tsunade raked her gaze over her young pupil, assessing her strengths and weaknesses as she considered a decent training regime for the day. After a moment's contemplation, she stood and pushed her chair back decisively. "I'm not out of tricks just yet, little girl. Follow me."

They trained hard together for the first half of the morning before Tsunade's duties as Hokage stole her attention and she begrudgingly left. As she walked passed her disappointed student, she reached out and patted her on the head. Sakura stared at her, surprised by the sudden display of affection, but before she knew it her teacher was striding away, annoyed with her many responsibilities as leader of Konoha.

Sakura shrugged and continued her chakra building exercises. At lunch, she went to the hospital to aid the injured and hone her medic skills at the same time. Soon, the whole day had flown by and she was amazed to find that her world was still solid on the foundations she had built during her 2 ½ years of training.

Only when she was alone that night did she allow her thoughts to linger on Naruto and her feelings for him. As the days progressed, Sakura found the eagerness to see him again growing steadily until she had to force herself not to think about it.

One morning, a week later, Sakura was sprinting toward the Hokage's office as usual, the brisk morning air nipping her nose pink. She clutched her slice of toast, having forgotten it was still in her hand as she burst into Tsunade's office. Bracing against her knees, Sakura panted an apology without looking up. "Tsunade-sama, I'm so sorry! I know I'm late, there's no excuse…"

Someone cleared their throat, causing Sakura to glance up. Shino, Kiba, Hinata and Naruto were standing in front of Tsunade's desk, while the Hokage sat in her chair looking extremely irritated. Before an uncomfortable silent could descend, Naruto leapt at her, all smiles and energy. "Sakura-chan! You came to see me!"

Side-stepping the larger man's dive, Sakura bopped him lightly on the skull. "Idiot, finish your mission debriefing before you attack me."

Rubbing his skull, Naruto pouted his lower lip out, but returned to stand by Kiba while Sakura crossed her arms and leaned against a wall. Tsunade eyed her for a moment before she motioned for Shino to continue. His voice was somewhat inhibited by the huge collar on his jacket that concealed the lower half of his face, but he still spoke with authority. "Uchiha Sasuke is indeed under Orochimaru's custody at present. Further investigation revealed two possible locations for their base of operations, both are detailed on the mission report. Also… Naruto?"

Naruto nodded, his entire personality turning serious in an instant as he stated, "We had a run in with Akatsuki. It was dangerous, but nothing we couldn't handle. The closer we get to Orochimaru, the more frequent our encounters with Akatsuki will be."

Sakura watched the debriefing, her eyes unable to leave him as he spoke. As much as she appreciated his childish demeanor around her, it was interesting to see him in full business mode. For the first time ever, she wondered if he was hiding his true personality from her, but quickly brushed the idea aside. Naruto wouldn't lie to her to save himself.

Tsunade interlaced her fingers in a V-shape in front of her face as she leaned forward on her elbows. The diamond tattoo on her forehead crinkled as her eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Akatsuki is a problem. Hinata, Kiba, and Shino, good job. You can go see your families now, I'll send for you if something comes up."

Naruto remained standing in place while Sakura pushed away from the wall to walk toward him. "Hey."

"Hi, Sakura-chan," he smiled at her, a light blush creeping over his cheeks as he reached out and wrapped one of her hands with his larger one. She moved her hand to a better position and interlaced their fingers to give his hand a tiny squeeze in return before dropped her hands to her sides.

Watching this exchange from the corner of her eyes, Tsunade smothered a smirk before it broke through to the surface. Once the last member of team eight left the room and the door was shut, she met Sakura's gaze and said, "So, you finally caved, huh?"

"What do you mean, shishou?" Sakura feigned innocence though her face reddened to betray her.

"Uh huh," Tsunade quirked an eyebrow at this before training her stare on Naruto. "And you. Don't think that just because Sakura likes persistent guys that every girl will fall for it. It's annoying."

Naruto slapped his knee and snickered, "Tsunade-baachan, if I cared about any other girls, do you think I'd have spent 16 years trying to convince Sakura to go out with me?"

Raking him with her gaze, she pursed her lips and grumbled, "Well, at least you didn't pick up your master's bad habits."

"Sakura-chan, let's go have some fun, I'm tired of listening to the old cow moo," Naruto made an annoyed face as he cleaned his ear out with his pinky.

Sakura sighed as Tsunade's infamous temper burst to life. "What did you say, you disrespectful brat? For that, I shouldn't assign you to this next mission!"

"Fine, see if I care!" Naruto yelled back, throwing his hands in the air. "I'm tired of missions! I wanna go to sleep!"

"Naruto…" Sakura warned, but was silenced by more yelling from the two.

"That's fine! I see!" Tsunade held up a scroll she had just finished sealing and tapped it against her other palm. "I'll send Sakura to investigate the two possible bases of Orochimaru, how's that? Maybe I'll send Kakashi with her, hm? How do you like that?"

Gasping, Naruto's blue eyes narrowed into a glare as he squealed, "You wouldn't dare! I gotta go on that mission with Sakura-chan! I made a promise to her!"

"Sakura can handle herself now, Naruto, as I'm sure you're aware," Tsunade replied, crossing her arms, her top hand still brandishing the mission scroll. "After all, she's my prize student who I've trained diligently and thus she's more than capable of taking on any of Orochimaru's apprentices."

Naruto's face scrunched up at this comment, as if he failed to see the correlation. "Yeah, but I trained with Erosennin, so I should also be able to handle Sasuke even if he's learned a thing or two from that snake guy."

"You idiot, it's not brute force that's going to get your friend back," Tsunade slammed a fist onto the desk's surface, making the whole room quiver with the vibration as the desk remained intact. "Sasuke's going to use his sharingan, possibly in a manner similar to his brother's devastating move, to perform doujutsu. When have you ever shown efficiency in dealing with illusionary attacks? The most you have going for you is insane stamina and a few powerful moves Jiraiya taught you. But you waste chakra like water on a rainy day and borrowing from the kyuubi is a horrible idea. It taints your system and allows him to control you easier."

"That's not true, Tsunade-sama!" Sakura snapped, stepping forward to stand next to her teammate. "Naruto forces people to face the truth, even if he has to beat it into them! And that's the one thing we need the most when facing Sasuke."

"Sakura…" Tsunade started, surprised at her pupil's outburst. "Are you sure? You've waited so long for this chance. Do you really want to risk sharing it with someone else?"

Sakura admitted, "I cannot think of anyone I trust more than Naruto. He's essential to this particular mission. Without him, Sasuke won't take me as a threat; he might even refuse to meet me face-to-face. I understand that Sasuke's never thought me worthy of his time, but this mission is bigger than petty jealousy."

"This is about saving a very confused friend before it's too late," Sakura finished, face hardening into a deep frown with a line of worry creasing between her thin eyebrows. "Because if Orochimaru manages to possess Sasuke's body, things will get a hell of a lot more complicated."

Naruto nodded energetically, hands balled into fists. "Yeah! So when do we leave?"

Sakura rolled her eyes and prayed silently for a decent squad leader, hopefully one with plenty of experience in dealing with Naruto. Then again, whoever claimed they could control Konoha's most unpredictable ninja was a boldfaced liar.

Tsunade exhaled loudly, dropping the scroll back onto the desk. "Well, your mission scrolls will be delivered to you as soon as I inform the mission leader of his role. Until then, Naruto, you go home and rest. Sakura…"

Biting her lip, Sakura contemplated asking for the day off to spend with Naruto, but brushed the thought from her mind after a moment. She wanted to at least get in taijutsu practice and a session of medic training before letting the crazy blond man distract her. "Yes, shishou?"

"Do what you have to do," Tsunade ordered, returning to her seat and immediately scribbling away at a document. Sakura witnessed Naruto fidgeting at the edge of her vision, and turned to leave, motioning for him to follow.

Once outside the office, she smiled at him openly. "Good job with your mission. Wanna walk me to the training grounds or are you too tired?"

"Eh, I'll live," he shrugged, throwing his hands behind his head as they exited the office complex and walked toward the large practice area. "Never did think info gathering missions were fun. Boring as hell, and with only Kiba to talk to."

"What about Hinata? And Shino?"

"Shino never was a big talker." Naruto shook his head, still holding his arms crooked over his head. "But I was hoping Hinata would open up, you know? Be a little bit louder now that we're older. No good, she just turned red a lot and dropped things."

"Wow, every time I start to forget how stupid you are, you find another way to blow me away," Sakura said, her voice laced with sarcasm.

"Huh?"

They reached the training grounds and Sakura waved his question aside as she hurried to a wooden dummy doll. Naruto perched on top a fence in his typical crouching position to watch her practice taijutsu. Centering her focus, Sakura unleashed a round house kick that sent the doll twirling on its rotating post. Using the flow of movement to slide into a drop kick followed by a barrage of various punches leveled at the chest and stomach of the dummy, Sakura caused the doll to spin clockwise then counterclockwise, back and forth with the impact of her blows.

Clenching her jaw as she unleashed her focused rage on the poor practice doll, she let her mind work out its frustrations through exercise for a few minutes. Leaping back from the dummy, Sakura swiftly spun a kunai around her finger before releasing it at the target. It hit the wooden doll with a thunk, imbedding itself up to the hilt.

Crouching low to the ground, Sakura breathed unsteadily as she glared at the kunai stuck deep in the area of the training doll's heart. She closed her eyes, clearing her mind of frustration, and exhaled as she straightened into a standing position. With her eyes still closed, she channeled green chakra to her palms, concentrating the energy to such a fine degree that it only escaped from the tips of her fingers.

Naruto's eyes widened as he watched this newest training session of hers, recognizing the combination of taijutsu and chakra manipulation that Kabuto had once used. When the other ninja wielded the muscle-severing taijutsu, however, chakra seeped out of his whole hand, making the skill impractical for combat purposes. It was a skill best used for medical surgeries.

For her to be able to limit the amount of chakra consumed by the jutsu during battle was a feat that made him swell with pride as he gazed at her. No doubt this was only one of the most minor surprises she had acquired during her training.

Fanning out her fingers, Sakura rushed forward, slamming her fingertips into a series of vital points targeted on the dummy. Each time her finger tapped a spot, she blasted away a portion of the wood until only the frame of the dummy and the rotation post remained standing. Cracking her fingers by flexing them, she dispelled the chakra from her hands and turned to see Naruto still watching her wide-eyed from the fence.

She walked over to him, breathing a little hard from the chakra consumption and physical work-out. "Hey, so what'd you think? Awesome, huh?"

He grinned and nodded, pushing off from his seat on the fence post to stand directly in front of her. Brushing her bangs out of her eyes, he said, "That was great, Sakura-chan, as always. Your chakra control is still the best out of the Rookie Nine!"

Puffing out her cheeks, she shrugged. "That's not a big deal. A medic ninja wouldn't be much without it."

Taking her hand in his, he examined her gloved palm. The wear around the knuckles and fingertips was easily visible. Obviously she took taijutsu seriously these days. "What does a medic ninja need to know taijutsu for? They shouldn't be fighting on the front lines."

"Maybe not, theoretically speaking. A medical ninja's forte isn't fighting, but I'm not just any medical ninja either." She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his chin, which was located at a little below her eyelevel. "I'm a member of the future Hokage's team. It wouldn't be right if I couldn't protect the people I love just as stubbornly as you do. I mean, who else is gonna help you take care of this village?"

His grin widened and he leaned his head down to meet her lips with his own, careful to keep his emotions in check as they were in public. That was the plan, anyway, until she leaned into him. Her hip bumped against his, chest still rising and falling to her exercise quickened breathing as she brought her body flush against his.

This time, the eagerness of her movements pressed him backward against the fence post behind him. Before he could close his eyes and melt into the kiss, a quick movement caught his eyes and he gasped around her lips, "Sakura-chan!"

Growling her protest into his mouth, she put both hands on the sides of his face and steadied his head as she nibbled at his lips. A shiver of pleasure caused his body to tremble, still backed up against the wooden fence that enclosed the practice area. The power she had over him was surprising even to her hazy, passion clouded mind, but she mentally shoved the thought aside. She was too busy licking his lips to be bothered with it.

A very confused, masculine voice split the air, ending her fun abruptly. "Well, you don't see that every day."

Grimacing as she broke away from Naruto's hold, Sakura turned around to address a familiar face. "Kakashi-sensei. What's wrong?"

"Wrong?" Their old teacher stared at them with his single visible eye before shaking his head exasperated. "No, not wrong. Just weird. I was sure it was some kind of freakish illusionary technique meant to throw me off guard."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto demanded, his eyebrows furrowed in indignation as he raged, "Don't be jealous because women don't go for old guys like you!"

"Old?" Kakashi repeated, inclining his head to the side as he ran a hand through his spiky, silver hair. "I'm not that old, you know."

Slightly irritated at his interruption, Sakura asked in a voice of forced politeness. "Sensei, we were a little busy at the moment… was there something you needed?"

A look of hurt flashed across his face as he sighed, "You two were so much cuter when you looked up to me. Such cute little kids… so impressionable."

"Sensei!" Naruto whined, wanting to go home to rest. Team eight woke him up extra early for the trek home after their mission was done, and he had ramen and his bed waiting for him at home. Both sounded better than reminiscing with their old teacher at the moment. "Hurry up!"

Waggling a finger at them, Kakashi reached one hand into his jounin vest and removed two cylindrical objects. He tossed one to each of them and grinned from behind his mask. "Mission details from the Hokage! That's all I had to say, so I'll see you at the listed departure time."

"You mean, you'll show up three hours after the departure time?" Naruto wondered a loud.

Sakura snickered and added, "Hey, don't give your elders a hard time. You know it's difficult for sensei now that he's getting on in years. He's just not as spirited as he used to be."

Scratching the back of his neck, Naruto's eyes turned into squinty lines as he asked, "Has he always been old then? 'Cause he's always been late."

Growing tired of their insubordination, Kakashi leapt away to do whatever it was he did when not on missions. If Naruto wanted to kiss Sakura, well… he was old enough to make that decision on his own by now. Kakashi could only hope that they were wise enough to keep their teamwork strong and missions free of personal complications.

Heaving a sigh, he realized what sort of brain power it would take for Naruto to make a separation between Sakura and anything else, and gave up. It was in their hands now.

Once he was out of sight, Naruto turned to Sakura, hoping to continue where they'd left off, only to find her impatiently tearing open the mission scroll's seal. Unrolling the scroll, her burning green eyes flicked from word to word, absorbing the message. This was it. This was what they had been waiting for.

Unable to contain her excitement, she flung her arms around Naruto, exclaiming, "Sasuke! We're going to get Sasuke back!"

Without hesitation, Naruto wrapped his arms around her and joined in her laughter. "Man, I can't wait to beat some sense into that bastard!"

Pulling back, Sakura raised her gloved hand into a fist and proclaimed, "He won't know what hit him!"

Grinning, Naruto slipped his own mission scroll into his side pouch and rubbed his chin in thought. She really did look sexy, standing in a patch of sunlight, her face warmed from her sparring session. Chips of wood from the destroyed practice dummy clung to her wild, pink hair and he reached out to remove a particularly large piece of debris. "Hey, Sakura-chan, I was wondering…"

"What?" she asked, confused at his pause.

"Well, you see, I just got back so I want to go home and change first, but…" he took a deep breath and finished his sentence in a rush, "maybe you want to go out to eat later?"

She was surprised at the request, though why was beyond her. It wasn't the first time he'd asked her out on a date… but it was the first time she had accepted it without ulterior motives. Pursing her lips, she crossed her arms and glanced at a spot of grass to the side of them as she muttered, "Yeah, sure. I guess that sounds okay."

Neither of them spoke or made a move for a few seconds as the answer sunk into Naruto's mind. About a minute later, he staggered back against the fence, opened his mouth wide and yelled, "WAAAAH!"

Shocked, Sakura stepped forward, arms out as she examined him for injuries with her eyes. When she saw none, her gaze snapped to his face, which had the most endearing look of disbelief she had ever seen. Across his cheeks and nose blushed red, his blue eyes wide, eyebrows slanting and furrowed together to make an upside down V shape, and his mouth still hung open in a circle.

She burst out laughing, clutching her sides as she doubled over from the expression on his face. He snapped out of his stupor and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you, Sakura-chan! You won't be sorry!"

Then he took off running down the street, leaving her to wipe the tears of laughter from her eyes as she stared after him. Chuckling softly, she shook her head, waiting a few more seconds before he remembered what she knew he forgot.

Halfway down the street, Naruto jolted in surprise, turned on his heel and ran back to where she stood tapping her foot. "Um, I didn't give a time, did I?"

"Nope."

"Ah," his blush returned in full force as he counted off hours on his fingers before stating, "I'll pick you up at 6. Is that alright?"

He waited for her reply and she took a step toward him, reaching up to hook her fingers around the collar of his jacket. She gave it a sharp tug, forcing him to lean down, giving her enough of an opportunity to capture his lips with her own in a brief but staggering kiss. Letting go of his collar, she stepped back, his eyes trained on her kiss-swollen lips as she spoke, "Six sounds great. See you then."


End file.
